Ram construction



Aug, 299 E95@ A. J. ERSTE@ RAM CONSTRUCTION 2 SheetS-Sheet l Filed Oct.l2, 1946 Am@ 2% E95@ A. J, ERSTE@ RAM CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Dot, l2i 'i946 INVENTOR ALF/2Enl. EzsrED ATTORNEY Patented Aug.29, 1950 UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE RAM lCONSTRUCTION Alfred J. Ersted,Atherton, Calif. v

Application October 12, 1946, Serial No. 703,011

15 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to a ram construction for bag turningmachines.

One object of the present invention is to provide a ram construction`which is simple in design, inexpensive to manufacture and highlyelflcient in operation.

Another object is to provide a ram construction which is extremely quietin operation.

vAnother object is to provide a ram construction which is readilyadjustable to any bag and which may be accurately adjusted duringoperation.

Another object is to provide a ram construction which automaticallysignals insufficient lubrication thereof.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a'plan view of the ram construction of the present inventionillustrating the ram in its retracted position.

Fig. 2 is a plan view similar to Fig. l showing the ram in its forwardand expanded position, certain portions being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the ram structure shown in Fig. 1taken along line 3-3 thereof.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse section of the ram structure takenalong line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section of a portion of Fig. 1 taken along line5-5 thereof, certain part being shown in elevation.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the crosshead of the ramstructure taken along line I-S of Fig. 1. f

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section taken along line 1-1 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged longitudinal section ofthe front end of one of theram guide rods taken along line 8--8 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged section of a portion of Fig. 1 taken along line9-9 thereof, certain parts being omitted.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged transverse section of a portion of the ramstructure taken along line III-I0 of Fig. 1.

The ram structure of the present invention is adapted for use inconnection with bag turning machines of the type as shown in Patent No.2,295,940`issued Sept. 15, 1942, to A. J.' Ersted.

Itbeing understood however that its use is not limited to the particulartype of bag turning machine referred to herein since it maybeadvantageously used in connection with various other to those skilledinthe art.

Referring now to the drawings and especially Figs. 1 and 3 thereof Idesignates the frame structure of a bag turning machine provided with arectangular opening 2. The entire ram structure 3 of the presentinvention is mounted on the frame structure I above the opening 2 so asto facilitate the connection thereof with the drive mechanism of the bagturning machine in the manner as disclosed in the patent above referredto. f

The ram construction (Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6) comprises a crosshead 6including a sleeve bearing 'l provided with a lug 8 within which acrosshead rod 9 is xed. The rod 9 is transversely disposed with respectto the longitudinal axis of the sleeve I bearing I and projects aconsiderable distance from the lug 6 ateither side thereof.

The sleeve bearing 1 is slidably mounted upon j a crosshead supportingand guide rod I I the reduced rear end. I2 of which is slidably disposedwithin a boreV I3 of a supporting bar I4 rigidly secured in spacedrelation to the frame I of the vbag turning machine by means of bolts I5and spacing sleeves I6 (Figs. 3 and 6). The front end Il of thecrosshead supporting rod II is of reduced diameter (Fig. 5) and slidablydisposed within a bore I8 of a bearing block I9 firmly secured to theframe I by means of cap screws 2|.

Disposed intermediate the bearing block I9 and aV shoulder 22 of the rodII and surrounding the reduced portion I1 thereof is a coil spring 23for normally holding the supporting rod II in posi- A,tion againstsliding movement relative to the bearing block I9 and supporting bar I4and with the shoulder 24 of the rod in abutment with the supporting barI4 (Fig. 6).

The sleeve bearing I of the crosshead 6 is further provided with a lug3| (Fig. 6) at the lower side thereof to which a pitman 32 is pivotallyconnected by means of a .yoke 33k and pivot pin 34. The pitman 32 is inturn pivotally connected `to the actuating mechanism of the bag turningmachine such as for instance disclosed in the Ersted Patent 2,295,940,previously referred to herein.

-Disposed adjacent the crosshead supporting rod I I are ram supportingand guide rods 36 and 31 (Figs. l, 2 and 3). The rear end of the ramguide rod 37 (Fig. 7) is slidably received within a bore 38. of a yoke39 which in turn is pivotally connected by pivot pin 40 to thesupporting bar Iii, whilethe rear end of the guide rod 3d is slidablydisposed in the bore 4I of a yoke 42 in turn pivotally connected by apivot pin 43 to the bar 3 I4. Each of the pivot pins d and d3 is heldagainst upward movement by a Cotter pin 44 (Figs 3 and 7) while downwardmovement of these pins is prevented by the frame I. Consequently, bothpins are securely held in place against accidental removal thereof.

The iront end of the ram guide rod 31 (Figs. 1. 2 and 8) is slidablyarranged in a bore 5I of a yoke 52 pivotally secured by means of a pivotpin 53 to a square nut or block 54 .provided with.-`V a threaded borewithin which" an'adjus'tmentV screw 55 is disposed. The front end of therod 31 is provided with a bore 56 (Fig. 8) and dise posed within thesame intermediate theffrodfi and the square nut or adjustment block 54is a coil spring 51 which normally `prevents sliding movement of the rod31 relativeY to the :yoke4 52,\ and block 54 as well as the yoke 39 andbar III- and normally holds the rear end of the rod-3151i. engagementwith the bar I4.

The'ffront 'end Pof :thefrodra: (Figs 1,` .2' andg9) is slidablydisposed in a vyokerV-S'I whichufisapivot-i allyifsecured: by -meansfoff. ai pivotl pin=16 2 i to a square-nut or adjustingtbiockthreadeduponthe fa'dfjusting': screw'l 55; while'fa: coilf. spring S1-arrangedin a bore .55 fin" theffron-t =end-v fxrod :35 'f and idisposed' intermediate; the samev and block f 631normaily preventssli'dingrmovement vof .the rodi'. 36^relative to the' yokes. 6r and -42'an-dholds fthe rod'iizinv engagement with the bar I4. f

tatably supported in the bearing block I9, previouslyreerred tog? andbearings `58y an-d-69secured by means-0f cap; screwsfifto .the frame-I.' One` enduorzthe adjustment screw 55 extends beyond th'ef bearinglG9 :and'skeyedto thefsamefis-fa vcrank handl'e 1 Il forlpermittingirotation L-of 'thef screwin ion'ef. or theeoth'er-`direction.: The :adjustment I screw 55 is provided.with:twonthreadedlfpoitions2 12iand'iiprovidedfwith' a leftvand righthand thread-grespectively.' The square"nutf5f1misfdis-Pposedionf-thethreaded portiony 12` and-:thessquaref nut 63is 'disposedon`the#threaded portion 1-3 iso that upon :rotation of; theGraniti-,handle z1 I ,i the ntsEi-and': 63fmay:-.be moved:towardf1orawayfv from eachz other whereby'i arcorresponding move ment IVor fthefront endof f the fram =gnide:rods 36 :1 and'231 fiseiectedu4 The rods.36"and' 31 farefangue: larly disposed with' respect to: each; otherandiby:r

turning the `crank han'd-1e'1 I, .the-angular dis-50 position- 1 ofi'the ram' =guidefrods S f andnl'; ,relai-1 tiVeL-'toieach'otherrmaybe-increased o1" reduced as-desiredzi. v Y

Suiiici'ent space between the front en'ds `of therv rods 35i and31iandzblooks 163 fand 54 :is-provided@ andisufh'cient bearingzfsurfacefofthefrods Within thetyokes 6I fand;52 isestablished toXperrnitrelavv tivemovement of the rods .with `r'espectto their yokes 5'! z' and: |52 asthe "distance:betweenfz yok'es 6 If; v12.and 52, .39 is redcedi orfincreasedfzduringfi pivotalutmovement of thexrods:l 33 and@ 31 ,faboutzpivot 'pins flSlandfd, respectively'.

`A calibratedscale15,.attaehed to or'formingf. an-fiintegi-alipart 7of*.the bearing-i189 fandLextendingke parallel. to the:screwicooperating-wiwi as pointer lordine-1115i on the yoker 52'Jisf-provi'deditov facilitate adjustmentiof Vthe ramfguiderod tomapredetermined position.

Slidably mounted upon-each ram guide rod 436 and 31 '(Fi'gs. 1, 2Iand'7)are long ram bearings'` 'I8v and .19 of sleevelike" configuration. Eachlbearingfland 19 .comprises `a lugf'Bfto which a transverse bearing 8I'ispivotallyffconnected.by means AAof a pivot Apin 82. EachA transversefbear; ing f8 I 'is slidablyfpos-itioned uponthetransverse'- rod 9,previously referred to, so that upon recipd rocation of the crosshead 6by the pitman 32 during the operation of the bag turning machine thebearings 19 and 19 are reciprocated therewith and are caused to slidealong the ram guide rods 35 and 31 in diverging paths during the forwardstroke of the crosshead 5 and in converging paths during the backwardstroke thereof.

Since the bearings 8| are slidable on the cross rodl 9-they are' freelto shirtlater`ally.f"on1 the rod 9 according'to the"divergingorconverging paths of travel of the bearings 13 and 19. Furthermore, thepivotal connection between the bearingsfSIgand bearings 18 and 19 permitthe angular adjustment between the rods 35 and 31 withoutTan-y1 bindingbetween these bearings during the operation of the mechanism.

Attached 'to the'bearings 18 and 19 for reciprocation'therewith is a ramunit 9|, comprising a section 92 secured to thev bearing 19 and asection-93 .secured-.to the fbearing..19. Each rram section comprisesaninner--andan outer .ram vrod 95 and 96,respective1y, provided at-their.front ends witha-ram-head91r A Y The rearportions IIand.. III2oftheramA rods and 96 are disposedadjacentandpara1lel toM each other` and`are` mounted# within and Weldedto supporting.bars |93' and.` |95 in turnsecuredbyV cap screws `|95to. pads |95 (Figs.

.8, '1.andl0) providedfon and forming anV integralpar-t .of .thelrambearings .18 and 19, respectively. The front portions |91'an'd'l99ofltheramrods 95-andf96ar.e.angularly disposed relative to .each Yotherand-Lthe-.po-rtions I91`of- Athe inner ram rods 95 are disposedparallel.tothe:Y

ram guide r0ds36 .and 31,'respectively.v

The portions I91and'I8 oftheram..rods.95rA and95l'offeachramsection92land 9343are slidlablyI supportedwithin .guids I IlandA II I,.re-

,spectively. The guide I Iis connectedibymeansl.

II1'h`eld-in place bythe cap: screwsII2 orJI I3,.

respectively, anda guideroller H9` rotatablyr mountedbetween the strapsI I5 and I IS in spaced relation to-theLguide.block.V I|1by meansJofabolt I Zlf The ram portions 92-'.and 93are disposed 'wthin the guides II9 and I I I, respectively,Y in such a manner that the-.portions |91"ofthe inner raml rods 95-contactthe vrollers I I9 and areguidedtherebywhile theouter ram rods 95 of both ram sections 92 and 93contactfand'areY guided by the guide blocks. II1 when the ram 9| isdisposed Yin its rearmost'or fullyontractedf position `(Eig. l) Whenthe-ram. 9| isin its fully expanded-and extreme forward -position'(Fig'.'l 2) Ithe ram rods l'andlill'are out Aof engagement" with theguide blocks I I1 and guide'rolls VI I9?.

Tli'estraps of the guides- I I9 'and IIIsupport the Vrain "sections 92`and"93"'in vertical direction,

as best seen from Fig. 4, and eiectively'elimil'late'V y,vertical'whip'of the ram' sections? A1-1"- oftheb'earings 1;'19; 1'a= and 8|'are provided L with oil wells |25 "within Ywhich oil 'retaining'feltpads aredis'p'osed'to assure-'atreven' and-'bontinuwith other parts ofthe machine the turning of the vbags presented thereto in the samemanner as specically explained in my prior patent above referred to. Ifit is desired to change the width of the ram i. e. the spacing betweenthe ram sections 92 and 93 and the degree of eXpansion and contractionof the ram the operator turns the crank handle ll in one or the otherdirection whereby the nuts 54 and 63 are shifted toward or away fromeach other and a corre,- sponding adjustment of the ram guide rods 35and 3l and ram sections 92 and 93 with respect to' 'each other isobtained. In this way the ram may be quickly and easily adjusted to anydesired width of bags without stopping the operation of the machinewhich heretofore has'beeny neces-A sary. Since the operator canobserveand change the degree of adjustment while the ram is in operationa nicety of adjustment canbe accomplished which heretofore could not beobtained except by a laborious trial and error procedure and continuousstarting and stopping of the machine.

During the initial phase and a substantial part of` the forward strokeof the ram, the ram sections 92 and 93 are rmly guided by the guiderolls H9 contacting the portions lll'l of the inner guide rods 95 sothat inward yielding of the ram sections during the initial phase of thebag turning operation, especially when bags of heavy material arehandled, is prevented.

Due to the provision of large and efficient bearing surfaces and thearrangement of all parts of the structure in such a manner as to almostentirely eliminate all undesirable stresses and bending forces a veryquiet operation ofthe ram structure is obtained.

It should further be noted that the crosshead guide rod I! and ram guiderods 36 and 3l are normally held in their rearmost positions by springs23, 5l and 64, respectively, but may be slightly shifted forward intheir supports if vthe springs are compressed. Therefore if theattendant of the machine neglects to lubricate the bearings 1, 18 and 19and the oil wells |25v thereof run dry, the increased friction overcomesthe force ci the springs 23, 51 and 64 and the guide rods Il, 36 and 31shift back and forth during the reciprocation of the ram causing achattering noise which warns the attendant to lubricate the mechanismbefore any damage has been done to the moving parts thereof.

The assembly and disassembly of the mechanism is extremely simple.Practically the entire mechanism can be disassembled by removing the barIl! and pivot pin 33.

Irrespective of the manifold advantages of the present ram constructionthe same is` of rigid construction to withstand the continuous wear towhich high speed bag turning machines are subjected in commercial use.

While I have described a particular embodiment of the present invention,it will be understood however that various changes and modications maybe made in the details thereof withoutdeparting from the spirit andscope of theV appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

1. A ram construction for bag turning machines comprising a ram unithaving separate cooperating sections disposed adjacent each other, meansangularly disposed relative to each other for guiding said sections formovement in diverging paths, means for simultaneously reciprocating saidsections along said guiding means to thereby effect lateral expansionand contrac-` tion of said ram unit, and means for adjusting theangularity of said guiding means relative to each other to therebyincrease or decrease the amount of expansion of the ram unit duringreciprocation thereof 2. A ram construction for bag turning machinescomprising a ram unit having separate cooperating sections disposedadjacent each other in spaced relation, guide means angularly disposedrelative to each other for slidably supporting said ram sections, meansfor reciprocating said ram sections on said guide means in divergingpaths to thereby effect lateral expansion and contraction of said ramunit, and means for varying the angular disposition of said guide meansrelative to each other to thereby vary the amount of lateral expansionof the ram unit during reciprocation thereof.

3. A ram construction comprising a ram unit having separate sections,means for guiding said sections for movement in diverging paths, a

crosshead slidably disposed intermediate said guiding means, means forpivotally and laterally slidably connecting said ram sections to saidcrosshead, and means for reciprocating said crosshead to thereby eiectreciprocation of said ram sections in diverging paths.

4. A ram construction comprising a ram unit having separate sectionsdisposed in spaced relation adjacent each other, a crosshead, means forguiding said crosshead for reciprocation along a predetermined path,means slidably and pivot-` ally connecting said ram sections to saidcross'- head for reciprocation therewith, and means for guiding said ramsections in diverging paths to thereby effect expansion and contractionof the ram unit incident to its reciprocation.

5. A ram construction comprising a ram unit having separate sections,means for guiding said sections for movement in diverging paths, acrosshead slidably disposed intermediate said guiding means, means forpivotally and laterally slidably connecting said ram sections to saidcrosshead, means for reciprocating said crosshead to thereby eiTectreciprocation of said ram sections in diverging paths, and means foradjusting the guiding means relative to each other for varying thedivergence of the paths of travel of said ram sections.

6. A ram construction comprising a ram unit 7. A ram constructioncomprising a ram unit having separate sections, pivotally mounted guidemeans angularly disposed relative to each other for guiding saidsections for movement in diverging paths, means for reciprocating saidsections along said guide means to thereby effect lateral movement ofsaid sections toward and away from each other, and means for pivotallymoving said guide means relative to each other

